Humanity's Son
by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora
Summary: Levi died in the 57th expedition. In 860, a young teen named Klaus joins the Survey Corps despite his ill feelings towards Mikasa Ackerman and Eren Yeager. As the pain from the past and the present collide as Klaus battles the monsters outside the Walls and inside himself, will he be able to set aside his hatred and be the hero humanity needs?
1. Beginning

What words could describe he felt? As Levi buried his blades into the Female Titan's eyes, he only felt the blood pulsing in his ears. He only felt anger. Rage. His mind was bombarded with the images of the bodies of the dead. Of the soldiers he didn't know. And of the soldiers he did. Eld. Gunther. Aruro. _Petra… _Levi's inconsolable grief turned into murderous rage as he continued to carve the Female Titan. The blood that spilled on him and on the grass seemed to come from him rather than her. His heart was pounding out of his chest, and he felt an inhuman scream claw at his throat as he tore the Female Titan up. Levi had not felt pain like this before. There was _nothing_ but pain. How Levi wanted to kill the Female Titan. How he wanted to carve he up into little tiny pieces and make her death fucking insufferable. But he told that friend of Eren's that they would not kill her. As Levi turned to strike again, his eyes widened at the sight of that _stupid _friend of Eren's going for the nape of the neck.

"Stop!"

_Shit… _Levi thought as the Female Titan's hand turned toward Mikasa Ackerman. She aimed to break her spine, where she would land, dead, sprawled unnaturally against a tree. Levi's breath stopped at the thought, thinking about a certain ginger-haired soldier who had met her death that way. _Shit…!_

Levi pushed the brat out of the way, seeing her stunned gaze as the Female Titan broke his spine and as he was hurled against a tree. Using the last of his strength, Levi cut the Titan's mouth with his blade. The sound of Eren's name echoed vaguely in his ears as blood seeped out of him. Every bone in his body was broken. Levi couldn't move. It physically hurt to breathe. His barely-open eyes saw the brat escape with Eren in her arms. _Good… _He still had his blades, even though they were broken. His hands wouldn't let them go even as agonizing pain ran through his limbs and as his blood dripped onto them. He was cold. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around him, squeezing. Levi fought the scream that tore at this throat as he felt his limbs getting crushed as agony seeped into him. Blood leaked on the ground. As Levi was falling into death's arms, he thought he saw a smile on the Female Titan's face.

_Fuck…you… _Levi weakly thought. Using his broken heavy arms, he pushed his broken blades into the Titan's face. A scream clogged in his throat as he felt himself high in the air. The Female Titan's mouth was open. She meant to _eat _him. _The only regret I have…_ Levi thought as his fucked-up body came closer and closer to the Titan, _was that…I wasn't…able…give you a peaceful...future. _The Titan's teeth were white and gleaming with saliva. The gums were pink and tinted with blood. _I'm sorry…Klau – _The scream that had wanted to come came. A blood-curling scream echoed across the skies as Levi felt his body snapped in half. The light finally faded from his eyes as his body was swallowed by the Female Titan.

* * *

And that was how Captain Levi, Humanity's Strongest, met his end. Despite the heavy losses of the 57th expedition which included Captain Levi and his squad, the Survey Corps were not able to capture the Female Titan. A young Survey Corps member named Deiter Badge attempted to recover his comrade's body, igniting Titans to almost overrun the Survey Corps. However, the bodies of the fallen had to be abandoned in order for the Survey Corps members to survive and escape the Titans.

On the morning Eren Yeager was supposed to be executed in Stohess District, the identity of the Female Titan was revealed to be Annie Leaonhart. Eren Yeager managed to defeat the fellow Titan-shifter, but she managed encase herself in an indestructible crystal. 200 civilians and military personal including the Military Police died in result of the plan crafted by Erwin Smith. Although Erwin Smith was tried, the trial was suspended from lack of good judgement. Approximately a week after the 57th expedition, Wall Rose was reportedly breached. The forces of the Survey Corps were deployed once again, despite record losses in the aftermath of the expedition.

It was revealed shortly after that the breach of Wall Rose was a ruse for a bigger plot. Reiner Brown and Bertolt Hoover, members of the 104th Trainees Squad, revealed themselves to be the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan that destroyed Wall Maria five years ago. Their objective was clear, and they successfully kidnapped Eren Yeager. However, at that moment, the Colossal Titan also managed to damage Wall Rose, creating a hole in the Wall. Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps had to make a decision. Commanded the combined efforts of the Survey Corps and the Military Police to rescue Eren Yeager and leave Wall Rose to her fate, or abandon the mission to rescue Eren Yeager and defend Wall Rose from the Titans that would surely invade the Wall. The man decided that the civilians and the military casualties would have to be necessary sacrifices for humanity, and embarked on the mission to rescue Eren Yeager.

However, Survey Corps members Jean Kirstein and Armin Arlert defied this order despite the punishment of death, and commanded the members of 105th Trainees Squad, who had to aid the Garrison from the regiment's small numbers, to defend Wall Rose. However, despite their efforts, over 80% of the 105th Trainees Squad died. The Garrison also suffered severe losses as well. 15,000 soldiers were eaten or died in the line of duty, along with Jean Kirstein. Armin Arlert was seriously wounded. 2,000 civilians were eaten. Beyond the Wall, Survey Corps member Historia Reiss was kidnapped by Ymir, who was also revealed to be a Titan-shifter, and the three rouge Titan-shifters retreated to Wall Maria. They have not been seen since that day.

Although Eren Yeager was rescued and sealed the hole in Wall Rose, his role in humanity was questioned. He was promptly arrested by the Military Police with Erwin Smith. Two months after the attack, the trial deciding both of their fates were held. Armin Arlert managed to persuade the Military Police to allow Eren Yeager live on the condition that he would train his Titan ability for the span of four years beyond the Walls. The Survey Corps and their expeditions would be suspended until he returned. Armin Arlert and Jean Kirstein received royal pardons from the King, and a statue of the fallen hero was made in Wall Rose in his honor.

However, Armin Arlert was not able to convince the Military Police to spare Erwin Smith. And so, in the year 852, the former commander was executed. The Trainees Corps was immediately revised in the aftermath of the attack on Wall Rose. All divisions of the military sustained severe losses, and a new regiment was required. The age of signing up for the military was reduced to ten; each trainees squad would disband into the divisions at age thirteen. Although there was much protest, nothing came of it. In the year 855, Eren Yeager returned with former Survey Corps members Mikasa Ackerman and Hange Zoe.

The Survey Corps, disbanded for four years, resumed, and immediately set out on the 58th expedition. Although he was a former associate of Eren Yeager and now blind, Armin Arlert was selected to become the 14th Commander of the Survey Corps. The people in Wall Rose remembered of how he had bravely defended the Wall with the fallen hero Jean Kirstein, and cheered when the decision was made. Two years passed in relative calm despite the heavy number of casualties of the Survey Corps. However, only a day after the 81st expedition in 857, Commander Armin Arlert died. Mikasa Ackerman, one the senior squad leaders, became his successor and the 15th Commander of the Survey Corps. Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman were now the only surviving members of the 104th Trainees Squad.

On the morning of that spring day of 857, this story begins.


	2. Departed Souls

_Bright light seeped through his slit eyelids. He could see nothing but a searing, blinding white light. Where…was he? The boy was not aware of his body, or of who he was. Bewildered thoughts ran through his head. Suddenly, there was a slight movement where he stood, and his wide eyes continued to expand as the shadow stayed. It was a shadow, nothing more, and yet…_

_ "Mother?" The voice that had escaped from his mouth was not his own. It was raw with sadness and rasped in desperation. His hands were trembling as his small childish fingers tried to reach for the person that had been the most important person in his world. "…Mother!" At the sound of his voice, the shadow turned, and the child in him audibly gasped as he witnessed the kindness and love in her eyes, and of how her smile was the same. She's alive, the boy thought as his hands reached out for her larger, softer ones. She's really alive…! Then, he heard his name._

_ "…Father," he whispered hoarsely. A man wearing a dark green cloak bearing the Wings of Freedom had his back turned toward the boy. The man didn't make a sound. "Father…" Suddenly, unbidden tears rose in his eyes, and the boy suddenly wanted to see the face that had been denied to him for seven long hellish years, since that day. "Father, I want to see you!" The boy could barely remember their faces anymore. He could remember their voices only through the last gift they had given him. "Father!" A sob rose in his throat as he remembered the only blurry memories he had left of his mother and his father. "Please…" he pleaded. The man didn't turn towards him. "I miss you. Why…can't you come back?" The cries echoed, and the boy shuddered from the noise escaping from him. His cries muffled when he felt the sharp pain from his teeth going into his flesh. He bit harder as the pain continued to surface, and just as he was about to draw blood, the boy felt a strong hand on his own._

_ "Hey, stop that." The boy's eyes widened as his gray eyes met the man's own. Dark raven hair framed his face. He was frowning, one of the most beautiful faces that the boy remembered. "Don't become like him, hear me?" Tears clouded the boy's vision, and he was about to make a chocked reply when he was awoken._

* * *

"Klaus!" Gray eyes opened to the sight of a pale blue sky. It was mostly obstructed by garbage.

"What?" he whispered irritably. Without any help from the hand offered to him, the boy stood on his feet. "I hate mornings," he stated under his breath.

"I was wondering when you were waking up," his companion stated. "You seemed a bit…disturbed, so I left you alone for a while." Both of them didn't say a word at the mention of Klaus' dream. They were happening more and more often now. One time, Adrian had told hold his friend as he cried and screamed in his sleep. Klaus looked across as his companion looked up at the sky with a wistful expression on his face. Adrian Snow had been Klaus' friend on the streets since they had become orphans in 850.

Adrian's entire family had been crushed beneath the debris of the Wall that had landed on their house. The boy had been playing outside when he wasn't supposed to. It was only thanks to the brave work of the 105th Trainees Squad that he had been able to survive. Both Adrian and Klaus had lost everything they knew at the tender age of three. Although Adrian had asked how Klaus had lost his family shortly after they met, he had been silenced by the deathly glare Klaus had sent him. The single orphanage that had been reluctantly built could not house so many of the children that had been orphaned after the Titans' attack. There were not enough caregivers. Many of the children, including Klaus and Adrian, had to live on the streets to survive. _So many died, _Klaus thought as he remembered rummaging through the clothing of the dead bodies of dead children. _And we survived. _Klaus and Adrian had met one day when they were both five years old. They had fought over a piece of bread, lost it, and finished what they started afterword. They had been companions since then.

Adrian's appearance contrasted greatly with Klaus'. While Klaus had thick raven-black hair and gray eyes, Adrian's hair was soft and strawberry blond. He had dark brown eyes. Although Klaus was older than Adrian by half a year, Adrian was taller. Klaus, although tough and wiry from years on the streets, was rather short and small even for his ten years. He also had a disposition of being considered unsociable.

"You wanted to show me something?" Klaus stated in irritation as Adrian pulled his hand into the crowd, pushing and shoving people aside as they existed the alleyway. Adrian didn't' answer him, caught up in the excitement.

"I don't know why, but the Survey Corps are back from their expedition!" The boy shouted to his friend. "Maybe we'll be able to see them in person!"

"Tch." Dark memories invaded his mind at the mention of the soiled military branch. He griped the box beneath his bloated shirt. "They die like all the rest, you know." His quiet murmur did not reach the ears of his friend.

"Besides, maybe we'll get a glimpse of your hero!" Klaus looked away from his friend's bright eyes at his statement, flushing slightly.

"He's not my hero," Klaus stated evenly. "He just –"

"Saved your life from a Titan, I know," Adrian interrupted. "Commander Armin is so cool! Even though he's blind, he's still able to kill as many Titans as he can! Did you know he's the youngest person to be the commander in the Survey Corps?" Klaus was silent as Adrian continued to gush about Commander Armin Arlert. "He's _way _better than Commander Erwin, simply because –"

"If Erwin Smith wasn't dead right now, I would kill him with my bare hands."

Adrian stopped, staring deeply into his friend's deep dark expression. There were times when Klaus was completely unsociable, of when he simply refused to speak as a blank and sometimes murderous look in his eyes as he thought in his own world. When Adrian had mentioned the late commander with the Mikasa Ackerman and Eren Yeager when they had first met, he had been stunned at the amount of rage in his eyes, and of how spittle leaked from his mouth as he told Adrian fiercely that he was never to mention those names in front of him ever again.

"Hey, why do you come here every time if you hate them? We see them every time they come back."

Klaus didn't answer. Instead, his eyes looked ahead as members of the Survey Corps filtered through. Immediately, Klaus knew something was wrong. The Survey Corps members had been rejuvenated when Armin Arlert had become their commander, and when Eren Yeager was part of their expeditions. A sense of endurance surrounded them even when they came home defeated. Even when people shouted at them from the loss of life, they never looked away. Now they were looking away. Their faces were haggard and haunted. Even their wounds were bandaged in a way that suggested hurry. People were silent as the Survey Corps members continued to file in, as if the tension in the air made it physically impossible to speak. Klaus looked for the familiar face of the commander than had saved his life seven years ago. As seconds passed, the ten year old found that he couldn't find the petite man that had blond hair crowning his face. His kind blue eyes were nowhere to be seen. A gasp rose in the public as they grasped the situation. Klaus felt numb. He couldn't swallow. He could hardly breathe.

A pulse of hate ran through him as he saw the familiar face that had haunted his face for seven years. _Eren Yeager… _The man was now as tall as Erwin Smith had been. Sweat and blood coated his face and brown hair, and his green eyes darted around. Klaus tried to not feed the hate inside him, but felt it grow as the seconds passed by. _It's your fault! _His voice screamed inside him before he could stop it. A pale woman stood by him, and Klaus' anger increased tenfold. _She's always with him Always…_

"On the 81st expedition of this year…" Eren Yeager announced. His voice was strained and torn. Every word looked like it was in agony. _Good. _Klaus thought as his gray eyes pierced through the man before him. _Suffer. _"This year…Commander…" Tears escaped from his eyes, and it seemed to Klaus that everyone was holding their breath as the second-in-command continued to openly cry. He felt no such thing. _Suffer._

"Commander Armin Arlert was devoured by a Titan!"


	3. 108th Trainees Squad

**Please bear with me as the timeline is somewhat incorrect.**

* * *

_108th Trainees Squad_

_ The child was running. Tears streaked down his face, and his breath came in uneven gasps as he ran away. He was scared. He was so scared. The child had nowhere to hide now once Lily had been eaten. The child's swollen face leaked more tears at the thought of the young woman's smiling and gentle face. Lily… Her death, being eaten by a Titan, the blood scattered all over the ground, echoed harshly in his tender mind. Why? Why did this happen..? He thought about his mother and father, who were now gone. "Your parents died…Klaus. I'm…so sorry. I'm…so, so sorry…" Lily had been the one to tell him. _

_At first as Lily held him and cried into his shoulder, he had no idea what she meant. What did she mean gone? Then his mind had shattered when Lily had been eaten by a Titan. They had managed to evade the debris that had fallen onto the house, causing everything to collapse. "Run, Klaus, run! Don't think about me!" Her pleading echoed in his ears as the Titan was holding her body ever closer to her mouth. His three year old eyes were wide as shock went through him. "Even though I'm not your mother…please…go." Her cries steadily became more desperate as the Titan's mouth continued to widen. "Live, Klaus. Live…for your parents who were taken from these bastards!" The little boy could see tears flowing down her face as the Titan eased her into its mouth._

_ Blood. Klaus could see it everywhere. Flying into the air. Falling onto the ground. On the Titan's teeth. Splattered everywhere. When the Titan looked at him with its hideous smiling face, a cold fear seeped through the little boy, and a gargled cry escaped from him as he ran away._

_ Now Klaus knew what "gone" meant. It meant dead. Tears refused to stop as despair and grief wracked through his tiny little body as he realized that his parents, his beloved father and mother, were dead, as was his caretaker. "Mother…!" He screamed. "Father…!" Sobs tore through his swollen mouth. "Why aren't you here anymore? Please…" Klaus stopped running and trembled as tears fell onto the floor. "Come back…" A gasp escaped from him as he saw a Titan reaching for him as the child cowered in the alleyway. _

_ Whimpers and soft screams echoed where he was as the Titan continued to reach its hands towards him. Father… Klaus thought of his father, with his raven-black hair and his quiet voice. Sometimes his mother said that his father's coarse attitude disappeared whenever he was around him. Mother… He thought of how his mother's laugh made him warm inside. Of how her ginger hair looked like the sun to him. Lily… A faint memory of asking why Lily walked with a stick, and why her leg was all twisted and ugly. Klaus remembered of how Lily had laughed at his question and ruffled his hair as she crouched down to his height as she explained, smiling. "Your parents are very good to me. I'm glad I got to know you, Klaus. I love you." _

_ Another memory surfaced. Of how his father and mother hugged him before they went away, and of his father's last parting words, and of his mother's loving wave and her smile. "Father! Mother! Help me!" A scream tore his throat as the child was lifted into the air. _

_ Suddenly the Titan's mouth went slack. Its limbs started to falter, and before Klaus' small form was crushed, he felt himself taken from the Titan's hand and in the arms of someone that looked like he was flying. Klaus watched through wide eyes as the Titan fell, steam emerging from the body as it disappeared. Klaus looked at the person who was holding him in his arms. Bond hair and blue eyes with a serious expression framed his face, but his expression softened when he saw Klaus looking at him. A dark green coat with the Wings of Freedom was on his back. Like Father… Klaus thought. _

_ "Are you okay?" The question came out soft and tears leaked out of Klaus' eyes as he remembered his mother's voice. It…sounds like her. The rescuer appeared alarmed and attempted to calm Klaus down as he held him in his arms._

_ "I…couldn't save Lily." Klaus sniffed. "My mother and father are dead." His swollen gray eyes looked into his rescuer's blue. "You…remind me of her, sir."_

_ "It's okay," the man soothed. "We can't save everyone we love sometimes." Sadness marked his face for a moment, but then it disappeared as quickly as it came. He stared down gently at Klaus. "Hold on," he whispered. Suddenly Klaus' stomach lurched as he and the man flew through as the buildings passed by. Klaus looked at the man curiously, feeling once again, safe._

_ "What's your name, sir?" Klaus remembered of how his savior smiled, and of the gentleness of the smile that his mother had said only his father gave to him. _

"_My name is Armin Arlert."_

* * *

"He died…saving one of his own soldiers." Eren Yeager continued as Klaus' mind returned to the present. His gray eyes followed the man's haunted green ones, slightly relishing the pain inside them. "Commander Arlert…was a hero. He died a hero."

"You mean he died saving you!" Stated a person on Klaus' right. Anger flamed in his eyes. "He died saving yours ass when he shouldn't have!"

"You're no hero!" Shouted another. "You've never been a hero!"

"You left us to die five years ago, you coward!"

"If Levi-_heichō_ was still alive, this would've never happened!"

"You let him die! You failed him! You failed _all _of us."

"Some hope you gave us!"

Klaus watched as the insults grew steadily as Eren Yeager's eyes widened. Hurt and pain signified through his features, and he shakily took a step back. His breathing started getting uneven. _He didn't expect this, _Klaus noted.

"Stop." The insults ceased as Mikasa Ackerman put her arm around Eren Yeager. Klaus swallowed, trying to ease the bitterness down his throat. _I… _"Commander Arlert is dead. We can do nothing about it." There was no emotion in her eyes. Klaus had known that Commander Armin Arlert was childhood friends with both Mikasa Ackerman and Eren Yeager. Why then did only Mikasa escape the grasp of grief? There was nothing.

"Eren," her voice softened slightly, "let's go." As the defeated Survey Corps members exited the road, Klaus observed of how Mikasa Ackerman kept her arm on Eren Yeager's shoulder as the military exited out of their most recent shame. _I…_ Klaus thought as an image of Commander Armin Arlert's smiling face in his mind, and then his gruesome death, swallowed by a Titan as the teeth tore through his cooling flesh, his eyes vacant. _I…hate… _An image of his father's dead body, never to be found. _I hate…them. _

"Are you okay?" Klaus was shaken out of his thoughts at the sound of Adrian's voice. He turned towards his friend and saw that Adrian's eyes were widened from the mix of grief and concern. He too, along with most of Wall Rose, had adored and admired Commander Armin Arlert. Klaus saw his friend hesitate. "Are you sure…you want to this? Especially now."

He meant about the Survey Corps. Ever since he could remember, Klaus had wanted to join the Survey Corps like his parents. It was his way of honoring their sacrifice. "I want to," Klaus said stubbornly. "Nothing can change my mind." His gray eyes focused on his friend. "You know that." He paused. "And you?"

"I'm never leaving you behind," Adrian declared. His grieved face was replaced by one of determination. "Even if I die, I'm never leaving you behind as you fight those monsters."

Klaus nodded. Their choice was decided.

Mikasa Ackerman was made the 15th Commander the same day Klaus and Adrian were inducted into the 108th Trainees Squad a day later. Klaus ignored the anger inside him as their instructor, Keith Shadis, spoke to them. He was a tall man with sunken eyes that spoke death and despair in volumes. _He must live every day with regret that he survived when many of the 105th Trainees Squad did not, _Klaus thought.

"You are now officially members of the 108th Trainees Squad." His sunken eyes seemed to bore into their own. A couple of the cadets shuddered. "I'm not here to give you a warm welcome. All of you are merely livestock, waiting to be eaten by Titans. There's a lot less of you than last time, but it's expected. Who would send their ten year old child to die?" For a moment, Keith Shadis' eyes met Klaus' own, and Klaus thought he saw a hint of recognition on his face before he looked away. Then his eyes turned to the others. "You're unlucky, that's true. When I graduated, I was a grown man of fifteen."

He let the sentence sink in. "These are dire times, however. Commander Arlert is dead, and a fresh unchallenged soldier in in his place! We need fresh young blood, which means you!" His voice became quiet with deep graveness "For the next three years, I'll train you useless shitty snot-nosed brats, and then, maybe you'll become protectors of these Walls!"

There were only 102 cadets in the 108th Trainees Squad. As Keith Shadis interrogated every new cadet, he observed that the instructor ignored some and tormented others. _We've seen too much to be scared by him, _Klaus thought as he observed as Keith Shadis bypassed him. _I've seen too much, and have too much hate inside me. I wonder, can he see it? The hate I have for them inside of me?_

"You!" Keith Shadis yelled. He stood in front of Adrian. "What is your name?"

"My name is Adrian Snow from Trost District!" _He looks like he's about to shit himself, _Klaus thought with a smirk as Adrian's brown eyes widened in fear. "I…came to fight the Titans to protect Klaus, my only friend, sir!" Keith Shadis took a moment to respond. He eyed Adrian hard, then looked at Klaus, who was staring at the sky with a bored expression on his face.

"What's your name?" Keith Shadis screamed. His spit slightly dribbled from his mouth. Klaus looked through the man's pain-scarred eyes through his own.

"Klaus, sir." The man in front of him frowned. Before he could ask the question Klaus knew what was coming, he said, "I have no last name."

"And why not?"

"My parents never had one," Klaus lied smoothly. In truth, Klaus had simply never heard his last name spoken. His parents had never been angry enough to call him by his full name. His mother had a last name, he knew. Of his father he wasn't sure. It had never been spoken in his presence. Keith Shadis' eyes continued to observe him for a moment. He had an unreasonable expression on his face. Then he moved on to the girl who was standing next to him.

"You! What is your dumbass name?"

"Simone Arlert, sir!"

Everyone's eyes followed to where the young cadet and Keith Shadis were standing once hearing that familiar last name. Even Klaus felt curiosity. He stared at the girl across from him. She was barely taller than him, had a petite build, and had the same blond hair her father had. The only difference was her eyes. They were an unusual color. Blue-gray eyes stared back at the man in front of her.

"Oh…I see. I had no idea Commander Arlert had children." Simone Arlert said nothing as Keith Shadis continued to talk. "In fact, I had no idea he had someone to knock up with." He paused. "Who was your mother?"

"A civilian sir," she replied quietly. "She died when I was very small."

Keith Shadis frowned. Then he promptly kicked Simone Arlert in the stomach. No one moved as the child of Commander Armin Arlert collapsed on the ground, gasping and holding her stomach as reluctant tears swam in her eyes. She started to cough violently as Keith Shadis reprehended her. "I do not care that you are his daughter, brat. I wouldn't give a damn either if you were the king's daughter. I will not treat you differently," he thundered as Simone Arlert attempted to stand. "Do you understand, you piece of livestock?"

"Yes, sir!" The reply was strong and didn't waver. Klaus watched as Simone Arlert stood, her gaze unflinching as she looked out in front of her. Her blue-gray eyes revealed nothing of what she held inside. _She has guts, _Klaus observed. He thought of the man that had saved his life. _Just like him._

* * *

The night had arrived only when the cadets had finished their first day of training. Dirt and sweat stained Klaus' clothes and hair, and Adrian was complaining that he would have to take a shower from all that running they were forced to do. Keith Shadis had not been easy on them. Klaus had forgotten how many steps he had taken after the 1000th step while running. Even though living on the streets had hardened him, the ten year old boy was still exhausted. All he wanted to do now was sleep. Hopefully no dreams would disturb him tonight.

"Hey, Klaus!" Klaus glared at the stooping figure that was in front of him. Albert Stone was sneering at the shorter boy for a reason Klaus couldn't discern. _Fat, insolent boy. _Albert had been one of the lucky ones who hadn't experienced the horror of losing one's parents and humanity. Wall Sina was full of riches, beauty obscuring the suffering of the other world and food and drink plentiful. _He got fatter on his own arrogance than the food he consumed with his gluttony. I hate those people._

Albert had been the one farthest behind while running. His sharp cries and gasps had irritated Klaus, who had been at the front of the line. The dark haired boy supposed that Albert was angry at him for excelling what he could not and wanted to take out on him. "You think you're so special, being able to run!" Albert snarled. "Well, I've got something to show you." Klaus ignored him until his eyes spotted something square in Albert's hand.

Inside his groping, disguising hand was a small black box.


	4. 54 Letters

_54 Letters_

"Give it back," Klaus growled. Although his face was calm, his gray eyes were blazing with anger.

"Oh, you're angry?" Albert crowned. His hands tightened around the black box. "Why does this…_thing _mean so much to you?" Klaus' breath hitched as Albert's pig-like hands continued to grope the box containing the last memory Klaus had of his parents.

"Give it back," Klaus repeated. He was dismayed to hear a hint of desperation in his voice. His fists were clenched tightly by his side. Albert sneered at the sight of Klaus' discomfort. His hands started to pick at the cover of the box, slightly revealing what was inside. That was when Klaus snapped.

"Give it back, you fucker!" The cadets around him gasped at his crude language, but Klaus paid them no mind. He was too angry to care. The boy was about to raise his hand and strike the pig that had held his parents' last words in his hands when Klaus was interrupted.

"Hey." Klaus' eyes turned toward the familiar voice. Blond hair framed the delicate face and the hard blue-gray eyes. Simone Arlert walked towards them and stood in front of Albert Stone, who was again sneering.

"If it isn't the princess." Albert gave Simone Arlert a bright, sarcastic smile, one that the girl did not return. A stab of annoyance went through Klaus when Albert continued to speak. "Just because you're the daughter of the poor fallen commander doesn't mean I can't beat you up, you know." Simone Arlert didn't speak for a moment. Her blue-gray eyes stared at Klaus for a moment before turning to Albert.

"Give that box back to him," the girl stated. Her eyes revealed nothing of what she held inside. Klaus watched the scene in heightened interest.

"Or what?" Albert opened his disgusting mouth, laughing as Simone looked at him in distaste. "What'll happen?"

"This." Simone's knee promptly kneaded Albert in the groin. A half gasped howl escaped from the prone figure on the floor. The black box landed on its side and was promptly picked up by Klaus, who was now looking at the crying Albert in disinterest. The crowd started to disperse once Albert's cries started to fade, cringing from the sight. Klaus looked at the girl standing across from him. She wasn't looking at him. Her knee was still pointed in the stance that had immobilized Albert, and seemed far away from where she was now.

"I have to thank you," Klaus stated. Simone looked at him, surprised and jolted from her mind. "For giving this back to me." For the first time since he had seen her, Simone gave him a small smile. _Her father's smile, _Klaus thought as he remembered him. She nodded to him, and then she left as well. Klaus closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. His hands tightened around the black box he held in his hand. _Their sacrifice is the reason why I'm doing this, _Klaus solemnly thought as he overturned the cover of the box and peered at its contents. _They're the reason why I want to join the Survey Corps._

Klaus and Simone later met as bunkmates. Times had changed since five years ago. Klaus had heard that there used to be gender-specific cabins and bunks, but since the occupants were ten to thirteen years old, the instructor didn't believe there would be any sexual tensions or lust during the training period. _I bet most of the ones that died in the last five years died virgins, _Klaus thought dryly. _We probably will as well. _His gray eyes stared at the girl in front of him. _So…she's Commander Arlert's daughter, is she? I never thought he would have a child so young._

"I never thought Commander Arlert would have a child so young," Klaus said slowly. He was aware of Simone's eyes following him.

"Most people say that." Simone's voice was quiet now, no longer the same girl that had kneaded the boy in the groin. Her eyes remained soft and wistful as she spoke. "My father would be twenty-six this November if he had lived." She sighed, coming deep from her chest, and Klaus recognized the sign of grief in her eyes. "I'll tell you a secret though," she stated with an amused smile. "I'm actually only nine, not the required age of ten years old."

"I see." Now as he looked at her, it made sense. Simone had been considered petite and small, but that was actually because she was a year younger than she was supposed to be. Klaus could see that Simone's eyes were not actually blue-gray as he thought before. Her eyes were light blue, almost like the color of the sky.

"My father was a good man," Simone muttered softly, "not just a soldier."

Sympathy flowed through Klaus as he saw the barely concealed pain the girl's eyes. "I know he was."

"After every expedition, my father would always, no matter how exhausted he was or the weather, would go to the families of the fallen soldiers and offer condolences." Simone whispered as if Klaus had not spoken. "I think that's why they loved him. He made it seem that he cared very deeply about them, and the soldiers that had died." Her light blue eyes looked transparent in the light. "I think that's why so many people loved him, and continue too. Not many people know about me, and…I'm glad for that. That way they wouldn't try to comfort me with useless words when I heard of his death." Thick tears streamed down her face, and her voice cracked. "I never knew my mother very well. All I know is what my father told me. He said that she was distant but kind, and very strong."

Simone sighed and wiped her tears away. "Even though every month there was an expedition, my father always made time for me. He was the one who taught me how to read, showed me about the ocean and the sand dunes, and told me stories about his former friends Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman."

Klaus stiffened at the sound of their names, and forced his voice to be even. "Former?" he repeated.

"Mikasa could never forgive my father for abandoning Eren to his kidnappers," Simone intoned with an unreadable expression. "She didn't even blink when told of the number of deaths, or the fact that Jean Kirstein died defending Wall Rose. And Eren never quite forgave Mikasa for abandoning Wall Rose to save him. And he couldn't quite forgive my father too for allowing so many to die that day." Klaus's expression remained unchanged as anger festered inside of him at thought of Mikasa Ackerman's disregard to any human besides Eren Yeager. _He's the only one that matters to her._ "My father still told me of their time as children, laughing as he remembered their bond." Sadness rose in Simone's voice as she remembered her father. "He told me too that he would give up his life to save them if it meant that they would live…because of the bond they had shared long ago." Simone gritted her teeth, and angry tears started to stream down her face. "I don't know if I can ever understand that. Why he would die…for _them_."

A solemn silence descended from them. Simone was looking down in her lap, grief marring her features. Klaus' emotions were conflicting inside his mind. He thought of the man who had saved his life. _He still wanted to save them despite them throwing him away…_ Klaus made no move to comfort her. He knew that there were times when words couldn't help.

"If…I ever love someone, I don't want it to be a parasitic relationship," Simone whispered. Her eyes bored into Klaus' own. "I don't want to feel that I need to have them to live for me to survive, or to believe that person is the only one in the world that matters." Simone frowned, and Klaus felt the knot in his stomach fade from her words. "If I love someone, I want them to die knowing that I can be happy when they're gone." Simone looked up and stared at Klaus' gray eyes curiously. "What is in that black box, Klaus?"

Klaus didn't answer her. The knot suddenly appeared again, and he remained silent as Simone flushed and mumbled an apology. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Klaus opened the box that held his father's and mother's letters. They had written to him every month before every expedition since he was born. Klaus remembered of how he had run back to his house, sliding against the blood that was coated on the floor as he searched for the place where Lily had hidden their letters. Although he had only been three, he had remembered what his father had told him. _"You may not understand them now, but you will understand what they mean someday." _His hand on Klaus' head, slightly ruffling his hair, echoed in his mind. The letters were in an overturned trunk, spared from the debris and the carnage. Klaus had grabbed all of the letters his mother and his father had written to him, and had fled the only home he had known. His parents had written him 54 letters altogether, their last letter written two months after his third birthday.

Now he read his father's last letter to him again

_Klaus, March 25, 850_

_Your mother and I are going on the 57th expedition tomorrow. I don't know why fucking Erwin is doing this, but it has to be a good damn reason. A brat named Eren Yeager has joined our ranks. He's apparently special. All I see is a brat who can't adequately clean. Even you can do that much, and you just turned three. As I write this letter here, I think about you. What kind of world will you grow up in? Hopefully it'll be better than this shitty one. How I want to give up the Survey Corps and live a boring life with you and Petra. But, that would be as fucking unethical as your birth itself. We couldn't take care of you – only come for visits – because it would be too dangerous if both of us died and you would be left alone. Who the hell knows what would happen if we didn't have Lily? People depend on me, Klaus and they also believe in me. So I will defend this world from the shitty Titans and make it so that you don't have to walk the same path as me. I'll wait as long as I need to complete my dream with you and my wife._

_Your Father_

"Why…did you have to die…?" Hot tears trailed down the boy's cheeks as he hands shook. Klaus had read his father's and mother's last words to him. He remembered being pulled away from the crowd after the aftermath of the 57th expedition, not understanding why Father and Mother weren't there. _Why is Lily crying? _Klaus thought as she pulled him away. _Why is there yelling? Where's Father? _His gray eyes followed the tall blond man riding the horse. _Where's…Mother?_

"Father…Mother…"


	5. Fallen Soldiers

_Fallen Soldiers _

"He must be their son," someone whispered.

Klaus listened to the conversation. A couple of weeks had passed after he had joined the 108th Trainees Squad with Adrian. He wondered if his mother and father had felt the same ease as he had when it came to 3-D Maneuver Gear. Keith Shadis had looked at Klaus with curiosity when they boy had remained perfectly balanced while using the 3-D Maneuver Gear for the first time. Klaus had wondered then if the instructor knew the truth. It was reported that Levi-_heichō_ was the best at using 3-D Maneuver Gear before his death, only rivaled by Mikasa Ackerman, who was now the Commander of the Survey Corps. _And I'm his son. _He wondered if the other cadets realized the same.

"He must be Mikasa Ackerman's and Eren Yeager's son!" Klaus' face darkened. Across from him he saw Adrian's worried expression and Simone listening intently to the conversation.

"I mean, she wants his dick, right?" Klaus saw Adrian trying not to laugh, and Simone even cracked a smile. Klaus remained dark and stoned-face. "He looks like her too, especially when he's angry."

"But, Commander Mikasa wouldn't do that! She's refined!"

"You have a crush on her, don't you?" Silence. "They're both very quiet and mysterious. They're both excellent at 3-D Maneuver Gear, and Klaus has Eren Yeager's suicidal idea of joining the Survey Corps! I mean, he has to be their son." Klaus' throat constricted at the thought of those lies. Anger burned at the thought of Mikasa Ackerman and Eren Yeager as his parents. He physically felt sick, and his teeth ground together as the lies continued to spill through those asshole's mouths. "They look alike, too! Especially the hair and the eyes."

"I would hate to be their son, though." At the sound of those words, Klaus' interest heightened. "Commander Mikasa abandoned Wall Rose in order to save his ass. So did Commander Erwin. And where are we now? If they hadn't abandoned us, then _maybe _we wouldn't be stuck here and waiting for our deaths."

"We still would be considered children, wouldn't we?" added another. "Wall Rose wouldn't be in the situation that it is if they had defended it. Bastards," he added.

"Jean Kirstein was the real hero," sighed another. "He defended the Wall when no one would with Commander Armin. Thousands of more would have died if it hadn't been for him."

"Well, he's dead now," snapped a cadet. "So is Commander Armin. Now we have this psycho bitch who couldn't' bear to live without her precious Eren Yeager and left us for dead. Now _she's _our commander, and really, what do we have to live for? We all know that we'll end up dying, and Eren Yeager isn't helping at all. He hasn't given us hope since the 57th expedition, which ended in _failure_. There's no one out there now who can possibly save humanity."

"There was Levi-_heichō_," whispered someone. Klaus noted of how most of the cadets nodded, their eyes glazed in respect and in some, awe. "He could have defeated the Titans…but he died from the Female Titan in the 57th expedition."

"Who is still sleeping, might I add." Klaus peered closer at the cadet. He saw that the cadet that spoke so pessimistically was girl with medium height and dark brown hair. _Emil Laurence is her name, _Klaus remembered. She was sitting behind the person who had spoken about Klaus' father. "And Levi-_heichō_ is dead. He was _eaten_ by the Titan bitch." Her hazel eyes suddenly focused on Klaus. "If he hadn't died, then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess."

A bitter fire burned in her eyes, and Klaus could see fellow hate as well. "Now there's no one who had ever reach that point in strength, except for _maybe_," Emil's bitter eyes stared dully over him. "Him, over there." Roughly hundred pairs of eyes followed where she pointed. Klaus didn't meet their gaze. He stared in front of him, hearing the bitterness and the despair in their voices. _So this is what my father was talking about when he said people depended on him, _Klaus somberly thought as he remembered as his father's back as he left for the final time, the Wings of Freedom shining in the wind. His dark eyes firmly on the path before him.

His hands were entwined together, his expression not betraying of how he felt. He hated the sudden feeling of being watched. He hated the eyes on him, and was greatly relieved when the stares stopped, and the mindless conversation continued. _Is this how Father felt? _Klaus heard his name mentioned again, probably still mulling over the lie that he was Mikasa Ackerman's and Eren Yeager's son. _Being…Humanity's Strongest?_

* * *

860

"I am not here to persuade you to join the Survey Corps." Mikasa Ackerman's voice echoed throughout the ceremony. Three years had passed since Commander Armin had died, and when Klaus had joined the 108th Trainees Squad. The raven haired teen had been first in his class, surprising no one. People still had the infuriating idea that he was Mikasa Ackerman's and Eren Yeager's son. _Disgusting, _Klaus thought every time.

Although he was thirteen years old with his voice broken and deep, he did not gain much height. Adrian was now half a foot taller than him, and Simone was a couple of inches taller. They were beside him now, all three intent of joining the Survey Corps despite being the top ten. Simone became one of Klaus' closest companions during those three years along with Adrian. The three were now a trio, something that Simone's father had once been with his two friends, one of which was standing in front of them right now. Mikasa Ackerman's voice, collected and calm, did nothing to ease the fears that Klaus knew that the others had.

_Everyone remembers the horror of the Titans even while we were very small, _he thought as people were starting to shake around him. _They know how Titans eat humans, as do Adrian, Simone, and I. _The fire illuminated her face. "I am here to tell you that humanity will die if you do not join." She let her words sink in.

"Humanity has never been in its darkest hour before now, and we need you to offer your _heart_ to defeat the Titans." Her gray eyes were like Klaus' own, emotionless at times. Just as his father's must have been to his soldiers. But never to Klaus. "If we fight, we win. But if we don't, we die." Mikasa Ackerman paused, and Klaus felt the anger burning inside of him once again as she stared out into the distance. "Make your decision. All of those who do not wish to join the Survey Corps exit now."

Klaus stared ahead, his gaze unflinchingly forward as he heard footsteps walking away. He heard the cries and the half-hearted goodbyes as he stood there. A moment later, the ceremony was completed. Klaus' gray eyes found Adrian's brown and Simone's blue. The raven-haired teen was surprised to find Emil Laurence and her friend Anya Finch beside them. Emil found his gaze, and he nodded respectfully towards her.

"You have my respect defenders of humanity," Mikasa Ackerman stated. "Welcome, soldiers of the Survey Corps."

_Father…_ Klaus thought as the night sky echoed against his eyes. _I know you would not like me to join the Survey Corps…but I did. Even though I hate them…I want to defend humanity just as you and Mother did. I'm not just your son._

_ I am…humanity's son._


	6. Reminiscence

_ Reminiscence _

_"Klaus?" Adrian knocked but heard no irritated answer telling him to go away. Adrian sighed, remembering of how his friend's face darkened from a conversation he had overheard. He had left, the aura he was emitting discouraging some from even looking at him. Adrian had been Klaus' friend since both of them were five years old, and the dark brown haired boy knew that Klaus sometimes went into a deep, dark, and angry hole that only he could get out of. Tonight was one of those nights. Adrian was quiet as he, and Simone entered the room. A lone figure was on top of the bunk bed, his head bowed and hugging his knees._

_ "Klaus? Are you alright?" Adrian had been skeptical of Simone Arlert at first. She had somehow befriended Klaus, which was impossible to do. She was also the daughter of the highest ranking member of the Survey Corps. She had never lived on the streets, and more than likely lived in Wall Sina, stuffing herself with food and greedy with jewelry and excess clothing. Adrian thought she couldn't understand his or Klaus' pain at all. When she told him of how she had been in the crowd of onlookers when Eren Yeager told them that Commander Armin, her father, was dead. She had told his scornful face that her father had lived a meager life, living in a modest cottage at the edge of the town with a small garden that her mother had tendered. Her mother had died from an incurable illness when she was just an infant, and her father had buried her in the backyard, where her grave was. Simone and her father visited her mother every day. "And now I can't even bury the man who meant everything to me," she had stated at the end. Adrian had been struck with sympathy. Now the girl was sitting beside Klaus, slightly coaxing him to explain his feelings._

_ "They…insulted him." Adrian started, stunned by how hoarse his friend's voice sounded. "They said that he was weak!" Adrian's brown eyes widened at his friend's state. He had only seen him cry after a nightmare when he was barely conscious. They had been seven years old. Anger burned through those gray eyes. "They said that Levi-_heichō _was weak enough to be eaten by that Female Titan!" A growl escaped from him, and tears continued to trail onto the bedspread. "That can't be true…because he was…Humanity's Strongest! He was so strong and yet..." Adrian didn't know what to think. _

_He had never seen Klaus react to a statement like this before. Now that the boy thought about it, Adrian wondered how he could have missed the signs. Klaus admired the fallen Humanity's Strongest more than even Commander Armin. Adrian wondered why. He too admired Levi-_heichō_, but Klaus seemed to revere him. Rumor was that the fallen captain was unsociable, rude, and short-tempered. He had even been a clean-freak. Adrian's thoughts were broken when he heard Simone's soft voice filter through the air. _

_ "They're angry because he couldn't save them." Brown and gray eyes followed her when she said that statement. A sympathetic expression was on her face as she spoke directly to Klaus. "He was the only one who could possibly have the strength to save him, but he failed them when he died on the 57th expedition. And Klaus, you're angry at him too, I can tell." Adrian's eyes widened at the statement, and moved towards her while watching Klaus closely. The boy had an unreadable expression on his face. "You're angry at him for leaving you, aren't you?" Simone whispered quietly._

_ "Why do you admire him so much anyway?" Adrian wondered out loud. Klaus briefly met his gaze before looking away. His two friends tried to make him speak again. They poked and prodded him, but Klaus had shut down. He would not speak, leaving Adrian and Simone to only wonder._

* * *

It had been two years since that night, and a month since the graduation ceremony. Tonight would be their first expedition. Adrian watched absently as his two friends quietly talked to one another by the stables as he looked on. _So, _Adrian thought with a sarcastic smile, _only five in the Survey Corps. The higher ups will be very pleased. _His dark brown eyes eyed the other two members. Emil Laurence and her little friend hadn't given a reason for joining the Survey Corps. Adrian had been more than surprised.

Emil had been the most cynical about the "current situation" that anyone in the graduating class. Adrian's reason was simple. He wanted to protect his friend. Unlike Klaus, Adrian remembered his life before 850 very well. The teen remembered his mother's smile when she saw him, and his tiny hands around his father's strong shoulders as they went out daily for the market. Adrian remembered too of his older sister and brother, Sara and Adam, as they played with their little brother and held his hand as he cried when he fell. His grandfather's weathered face as he sneakily handed him a sweet, and his grandmother's soft and warm hugs.

She had been the one to hold him when he first born, three years before she died. _A butterfly, _Adrian thought wistfully as he continued to reminiscence. _That's what it was. _Three year old Adrian had seen a butterfly outside the window, and had ran outside in an attempt to catch it. The child had not heeded his mother's words when she called him to come inside, softly reprimanding him as it was against the rules to go outside without an adult. And then their worlds had come crashing down.

Adrian still remembered the large debris that had collapsed on his home, of the blood splattered among the splinters of wood and stone. He had called for them, crying later as his cries had fallen on deaf ears. Then his red-rimmed eyes spotted the butterfly, its dead body and wings broken underneath the rock that had killed it. Adrian had started to cry and wail, not understanding what was happening. The child had no idea where everyone had gone. He had cried and sobbed and rocked until he had almost fallen into exhaustion.

Then a gigantic hand appeared out of nowhere, reaching for him. Adrian remained motionless, wanting only to fall asleep. Then suddenly Adrian had been picked up, and was _flying_. The child had momentarily forgotten the horror he had experienced, and gasped in joy. The strong arms that reminded the child of his father fell away, and Adrian could only see the blond hair as the man flew away, as Adrian himself was led to safety by people with haunted eyes.

Two years later he had met Klaus, and Adrian loved him despite all of the faults he had. Unlike Simone, he didn't care about honoring the legacy of those who had fallen. He had just wanted to protect Klaus, his first friend. Who was one the few people know that cared if he lived or died.

"What'd you think of our _bun-taichō_?" Simone asked when Adrian walked over.

Adrian comically shuddered at the mention of their _bun-taichō_. The first thing Adrian noticed was her dark brown messy hair tied into a ponytail. Then he had noted her glasses, which were gleaming in the sunlight. She had promptly introduced herself as Hanji Zoe, one of the four member of the Survey Corps carrying the title _bun-taichō_. "Eren Yeager is another," she stated with unusual excitement. Adrian flinched as her voice rose another octave. "Mikasa Ackerman was a fellow _bun-taichō _but she's now the commander." Instead of learning the mechanics of the Survey Corps, Adrian and the rest of the 108th Trainees Squad graduates were forced to endure their _bun-taichō_'s eccentric obsessive talking about Titans.

Adrian had noticed on how Hanji Zoe seemed to pause when looking at Klaus. Her talking mercifully stopped a mere moment as she stared at the short teen in front of her. Then as suddenly as she stopped talking, she talked again even more excitedly, if that was possible. _Why do people keep staring at him? _Adrian thought as he stared at Klaus' annoyed expression. _First it was Keith Shadis, our instructor, then it was the senior Survey Corps members, and now this weird bitch who's apparently entrusted to our lives. _

"Weird," Adrian said with a shake of his head. He hear Klaus snort beside him.

"Weird?" Annoyance and irritation was expressed on his face. "She was fucking insane." Since joining the 108th Trainees Squad, Klaus had made a habit of using profanity language. Simone, although delicate in size, didn't seem to mind. What would she say is she knew that Adrian did? _Please, don't go on a rant with lots of curse words, _Adrian silently pleaded to Klaus. Thankfully, Klaus appeared to hear him and only glowered at the thought of that _bun-taichō_. "I swear I know Hanji Zoe from somewhere…"

"Thank God you don't," Adrian stated.

"Why do you call her Hanji Zoe?" Simone asked. "You call my Levi-_heichō_ and my father by their titles."

Klaus turned towards her, his face a mask of boredom. "Because the shitty four-eyes is not someone I respect." For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then a senior Survey Corps member called to them, telling them they were about to depart for the expedition. The three didn't say a word as the Survey Corps members stood in front of the gate that would lead them to the outside word. _It's odd, _Adrian thought as the gates began to open as Commander Mikasa began her speech about fighting to live. _Before 845, there used to only bee three expeditions a year. Now there's one every month. _He glanced at Klaus, who was staring right ahead, and Simone, who was nervously combing strands of her hair. Adrian knew that his entire family wouldn't want him to do this, especially for the sake of one single bastard boy. But he soothed himself to believe that they would be happy that he was one of the heroes that would defend humanity. _Just watch, Mama, Papa…everyone. I'll make you proud. And this time, I'm able to protect someone I care about!_

The 118th expedition had begun.


	7. Adrian

**Warning. Character death.**

* * *

_Adrian_

Adrian could only watch the blue sky and the clouds for a mere moment as a Titan appeared before them. It had only been a few hours since the 118th expedition had begun, and Adrian was just beginning to enjoy himself. He had never seen the outside world before, and was astonished by the grass beneath him and the blue sky with small puffed clouds above him. He saw the sun, burning bright, and felt the wind as it pulled on his hair. Adrian had let out a smile, breathing a sigh of joy as his dark brown eyes took in the sights as the Survey Corps continued on their expedition.

He had looked back, seeing Simone's fellow smile and saw that Klaus had a faint expression of wonder for brief moment before it died. Then Adrian's friend closed himself up again, his expression unreadable and his eyes seeing what only he could see. _To be honest, _Adrian thought as he focused ahead away from his morose friend, _he's been a bit different since the expedition started. He hasn't spoken once – not that that's odd – but it's different this time. At other times, he's just plain aggravated and short-tempered. _Adrian frowned, remembering that his friend's attitude started to change after meeting their crazy _bun-taichō_. _Goddam it, _Adrian thought with increasing frustration. _Why are you hard to understand sometimes, Klaus?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a shout in front of him. "A Titan! 10 meters!" Adrian's face became grim as he stared at the Titan in front of him. It was small compared to other Titans he had seen in textbooks, and had sandy-blond hair and green eyes. Its mouth was open in an insane smile. Adrian gulped, swallowing his saliva and willing his stomach to cooperate. Although Adrian and the others had trained for three years to kill Titans, he wasn't prepared. Not at all. The memory of the Titan attacking his three year old self was in his mind as the Titan came closer. At the corner of his eye, Adrian saw Simone signal with the green smoke that the Titan had been sighted. Klaus was preparing to use his 3-D Maneuver Gear. Adrian couldn't explain why he felt fear at the point of his fingers. The Titan came closer to them, its hideous teeth baring. Adrian's stomach lurched.

"Klaus!" Adrian's voice shook. "We should go and leave this for the senior members!"

"No." Adrian had never seen Klaus so calm before. His blades were held before him. His gray eyes were free of fear. "What will happen to the others if we don't kill it here?" _The others… _Adrian thought suddenly. His voice sent shudders down to Adrian's spine. Klaus jumped.

"Klaus!" Adrian's voice shook as he saw his friend bared his blades into the Titan's tendon at the ankle. Simone cut the other tendon, and Adrian's mouth gaped in half awe and fear as Klaus severed the skin of the Titan's neck. _Wow…so fast. _Adrian continued to stare at his friend's back as the Titan turned to steam. _He even twirled his blades…something that only Levi-_heichō _could do. _Adrian remembered their instructor's surprise when he saw how Klaus held his blades. The others had commented on how Levi-_heichō_ had held his blades like that; the left one held facing upwards, and the right facing downwards.

Surprisingly, Klaus was always calm whenever someone praised the fallen captain of the Survey Corps. Adrian thought about that now, remembering of how Klaus _and _Simone had taken down and killed the Titan without a hint of fear. _Unlike me, _Adrian thought. He had heard of how many people froze and even wet themselves at the first sight of a Titan. Of how some of them even ran away and were executed because of it. Of how some couldn't do anything as their comrades were eaten because they were frozen in fear. _I never thought I would be one of those people_, Adrian thought in self-loathing. _I considered myself above them all. And now I…_

"Hey, Adrian." Adrian's thoughts broke at the sound of Klaus' voice. Miraculously, no Titans were sighted so far. Adrian forced himself to look at his friend, expecting to find contempt or anger in those gray depths. Instead, Adrian was surprised to find understanding. "My mother wet herself on her first expedition, so it's good that you're the only normal one here. She was the only female member of Levi-_h_e_ichō_'s squad."

"Your mother…?" Adrian had never heard Klaus talk about his parents before. He had assumed that Klaus had very few, perhaps none at all, memories of his mother and father. The only keepsake he had of them was a small black box, and Adrian had given up trying to guess what was inside. Knowing now that Klaus' mother had been in the Survey Corps stunned Adrian, but it made sense on why Klaus valued the Survey Corps more than any other military branch. _Come to think of it, _Adrian thought as he gazed at Klaus, _he looks just like Levi-_heichō_ from that angle._

"A 15 meter ahead of us," Klaus stated. Adrian turned his dark brown eyes to the Titan, and his eyes widened as he recognized that the Titan was a Deviant. He heard Klaus curse under his breath. "Adrian, we need you this time!" With that, Klaus used the hooks from his 3-D Maneuver Gear, and aimed his sword at the Titan's ankle. The Titan's arm reached for Klaus, and Adrian's breath hitched for a moment before Klaus managed to evade the hand. Simone too started to move towards the Titan, and Adrian held his hands on top of his 3-D Maneuver Gear, prepared to strike. _I…_

Then it happened. As Simone aimed her sword at the Titan's ankle, the Titan used its foot to kick her aside. Adrian's mouth gaped open in a soundless gasp of horror as Simone collided with the ground, rolling as rocks and grass came in contact with her skin. After a couple of moments, she was still. Adrian saw Klaus abandon the Titan and rushed to Simone. Adrian jumped off his horse as he saw the Titan reaching for his friend behind him, remembering a long ago memory. His grandfather had his hands on his shoulders, asking him what he wanted to do when he grew up. Adrian was only two years old, but he knew that grown up meant people like his mama and papa. He wanted to be just like them. _"I want to protect my friends! That's all I want, Grandpa!"_

Now as Klaus raced towards an unconscious Simone, Adrian remembered the long-ago words he had said to his grandfather. He saw the Titan's arm torn off, bleeding as it landed on the ground far away. If he could have seen himself, Adrian would have seen a man with a solemn expression with determination. He was aware of the Titan reaching for him, and could see Klaus holding his sword in front of him despite having their unconscious comrade on his back. _There's only one way… _

Adrian somehow felt nothing he was aware of the Titan's teeth around his head. The Titan had tried to eat Klaus and Simone, but instead the Titan had Adrian's head against his teeth. Adrian could barely see the mouth that held him in its grasp. Somehow he could imagine Klaus' shocked face, paling and wan, shaking as his friend was not yet eaten in front of him. Maybe he was even crying.

A shock went through him as he thought of all the clues he had missed. Of Klaus being angry whenever someone criticized Levi-_heichō_, and of how he admired him more than Commander Armin. Even the way he looked and his demeanor was a sign. And then there was his mother, a member of Levi's squad. _Of all the times to figure this out, _Adrian thought wryly.

_Don't worry, _Adrian wanted to tell Klaus. _I'm fine. I don't…feel anything._ Pain started to course through him, and he felt blood weeping against his skin._ I'm actually…happy. I was…able to protect people I cared about this time. _He flashbacked to the deaths of his family. _My friend…I was able to protect him. Right, Grandpa? No…_ he thought as he felt himself being lifted into the air, and heard a hoarse shout. _I…was able to protect my friends. _Adrian felt the Titan smile against him, tearing at his face. It didn't matter anymore. The teenager thought of the memories he had made. He remembered of how he had met Klaus on that cold winter day, and of how he had laughed and smiled with both Simone and Klaus. Of how much he wished he could spend more time with them. A tear trailed down his face. _I would have protected you always, son of Humanity's Strongest. Always. I…_

_I was able to protect them…my two…friends…_

There was mind-numbing pain, and then nothing but black as the Titan snapped off his legs and swallowed him.


	8. Scream

_Scream_

_ Adrian… _Klaus blankly stared at the scene before him. Two broken bloodied legs had fallen onto the ground, the blood staining the grass. That was all that was left of his childhood friend. Numb, Klaus remembered as he saw Adrian cut off the Titan's arm as the Titan reached for him and the unconscious Simone. He was carrying her on his back, holding his sword in his hand to fight, accepting the fact that he could die.

Klaus' gray eyes had widened when he saw Adrian, his childhood friend, stand impossibly still as only his legs and torso were visible as the Titan's mouth held the brunette teen in its grasp. As the seconds passed and as Adrian's blood dripped onto the Titan's teeth, Klaus found himself unable to move. His face was white, and his eyes grew larger and larger as blood continued to flow onto the ground. _Why…can't I…do anything? Why can't I…move? Damn it…damn it! _Klaus' breathing stopped when he saw the Titan move forward. It stood, and Adrian's body inch deeper and deeper into the Titan's mouth. _Is…that me? _Klaus thought as he heard a desperate scream. _Is this…all I can really do? _

"Ah….Ah…." Klaus couldn't even speak. Adrian was falling away from him. Adrian was dying. _"We're best friends, right, Klaus? We'll always be together!" _A grimy five-year old Adrian, smiling and sharing a small piece of bread with his scowling five-year old self, flashed through Klaus' broken mind as he watched heard a sickening crack as Adrian's legs snapped and detached from his body. As Adrian was eaten before him.

_Adrian... _Two broken bloodied legs had fallen on the ground. They were twisted, and far apart. Coated with Adrian's blood. Klaus was aware of the Titan reaching for him. His sword was motionless by his side. _Adrian… _The death of the boy who had befriended another orphan flashed through his numb mind. He saw Adrian's smile. He heard his laughter. _Adrian… _Rage started to course through Klaus. The raven-haired teen looked at the Titan above him, the teeth coated with Adrian's blood shown to him. There was a sight of a humungous hand, and then everything went red.

Klaus stood on top of the Titan as it steamed. His gray eyes surveyed the bones that were now exposed, wondering where Adrian was now. It seemed the only thing left of his friend were the two legs that were on the ground. Klaus had killed the Titan in blind rage; he didn't even know what had happened until he found himself standing on top of the Titan. Klaus stared, his dark eyes distant and somber. _Father…would you have been able to save him? I wonder if you could have. _He gritted his teeth, his curled fist starting to tremble. _Mother…you would have been able to save him too. But I…_

"Klaus!" Klaus' thoughts were interrupted when he heard his name. He turned, and saw Simone walking towards him. Despite a slight limp, she seemed relatively unharmed. Her blue eyes searched for his own, and Klaus answered her question before she could ask it.

"Adrian is dead." The voice that belonged to him was dead. It was raspy and thick, not like his bored and monotone voice Simone was used to hearing. His heart was still beating. Klaus didn't understand why. Without even looking behind him, Klaus could tell that Simone was crying. He felt nothing now. The rage and horror had disappeared, leaving nothing in its wake. Klaus' gray eyes stared ahead.

* * *

Klaus killed four Titans on that expedition. He hadn't felt anything when he saw their bodies fall to the ground. He felt nothing. Simone, although her tears had stopped, remained shaken and didn't speak. Klaus could feel the hollowness in his heart as the expedition. _This is must have been of how Father felt when Mother died. Only worse. Much, much worse. _There was death plaguing the former trio wherever they went. Whatever sanity Simone had left disappeared when the expedition was called off; there were too many dead. She began to cry, thick tears masking her face. Klaus did not cry.

He continued to feel nothing as the sight of Adrian's death plagued his mind. The surviving members of the Survey Corps – which were few – stood in silence as they mourned the death of the comrades. Klaus and Simone handled the bodies of the deceased, noting of how Adrian's remains had been left behind. _"What dead is dead," _his father had told him one time. Thinking of the raven-haired soldier made Klaus lose some of his composure. _Father…_ He bit his lip as Simone stared blankly ahead of her at the red sunrise. _Father… _

"You did well on your first expedition." Klaus sharply turned to find himself facing Mikasa Ackerman. His gray eyes widened as he saw Eren Yeager behind her, holding one of the horses. The commander of the Survey Corps was calm and she spoke elegantly. Those thoughts disappeared from Klaus mind as emotions started overcoming him. "Klaus, is it?" At the sound of his name coming from her lips, Klaus' face twisted in rage. Fury overcame his thoughts, and felt his cold hand around Mikasa Ackerman's throat as they landed roughly onto the ground.

"Mikasa!" At the corner of his eye, Klaus saw Eren Yeager draw his blades, but he stopped as soon as he saw the murderous rage in Klaus' eyes. Mikasa Ackerman didn't move as Klaus' hands on her throat began to lesson. Instead, she looked into his eyes in disinterred.

"You…" Klaus whispered. His gray eyes became slits as rage continued to course through him. _"You..." _Rage almost made it impossible for him to speak. _"…precious Eren Yeager." _He thought of what had come before him. Of his father being eaten by the Female Titan. Of his mother, her spine broken, dead against a tree. Of Adrian, dying on his first expedition. "I hate you so much." The heated whisper received on reaction. Klaus didn't expect one. "I…hate you so much." _Blood against the ground, her agonized screams in his ears. _"I hate you for what you did to us." Klaus was not aware of the Survey Corps members watching them with wide eyes now. He was only aware of this _bitch _in front of him, who had the name of Mikasa Ackerman.

"You…have no idea how you made us suffer because of you."

"What do my actions have to do with the present?" Klaus' gray eyes bore deep into hers, the rage and pure hate in his eyes omnipotent. _My mother…my father… _Klaus ground his teeth, aware of how his hands were shaking and of how he wanted to strangle the woman before him.

"I fucking hate you and your precious Eren Yeager!" Klaus screamed. His eyes were wide and gleamed with the rage that had been held inside him for so long. His hands shook, and his breathing quickened at the sight of Mikasa Ackerman in front of him. Just as he dreamed about for so long.

"If you hadn't desperately wanted to punish the Female Titan, then my father would have survived!" _He was aware of Lily reading the paper to him, her face somber as Klaus listened. His smile broke out when he heard his father's name mentioned, but suddenly Lily stopped reading and started to shake and cry. "You shouldn't have died…_Heichō_…" Klaus' three year old mind couldn't understand why Lily was crying. Father would come back. He always did, along with Mother. They would come back. …Wouldn't they? _

"If you hadn't been so concerned about your precious fucking Eren, then my father wouldn't have had to die for you!" Klaus gripped Mikasa Ackerman's green cloak in his hand. "Don't you understand?" He screamed, aware of how his voice was almost at a hysterical pitch. "If you had just followed my father's orders…he would be alive today!" Klaus gasped, deeply breathing as he stopped shouting for a moment. His entire body shook. Mikasa Ackerman had an unreadable expression on her face, igniting the rage inside him. "He wouldn't have had die, you hear!"

"Why does this matter to you?" As soon as those words left her mouth, Klaus' finger tightened on her throat. Klaus vaguely heard shouts of the Survey Corps members behind him, but at the sound of Eren Yeager's words, they remained still.

"Don't you recognize me?" Klaus whispered in Mikasa Ackerman's ear. "I'm his son." He slightly lessoned his grip on her throat. "I'm Levi's and Petra Ral's son!" It felt so good to say those words. How many times had he wanted to say them but couldn't? How many times had his father told him to keep his identity a secret until he was grown? Mikasa Ackerman's expression was shock. Her mouth was slightly open, but Klaus started to speak again before she got the chance.

"You abandoned us too. Remember? In 850." His dark eyes surveyed hers, hoping she could see every damn emotion he had kept inside him since that day. "You thought that fucking Eren Yeager was more important than the lives of the citizens of Wall Rose. You _fucking _believed that all the innocent and defenseless people that would die that day were sacrifices for Eren Yeager's life. At the price of one boy with powers he could barely control."

The rage was still inside him, but it didn't burn inside him any longer. It was there, silent and waiting. "You left us to the Titans," Klaus said in a dangerously calm tone. "You allowed so many people to die for the sake of Eren Yeager, just as you caused my father to _sacrifice _his life for you!" Klaus closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath.

"Adrian's entire family died because of your decision. My life, and many countless others' were destroyed. We would have all died if it hadn't been for Jean Kirstein and Armin Arlert. They…were the true heroes. None of this would have happened if my father wouldn't have died. _None _of this would have. Adrian would have been still alive if it hadn't been for you!" Klaus snarled. His spit coated on Mikasa Ackerman's face. "If my parents had lived, maybe Adrian wouldn't even have been in the military. He wouldn't have had to die!" Tinted red stared to overcome Klaus' eyes as he thought of his father, his mother, Lily, and now, Adrian. "They shouldn't have died!" He screamed. "They never should have –!"

A sharp crack and intense pain was all he was aware of as Klaus' body collided onto the ground. Sharp rocks and a hard ground collided against his flesh, making it so that when his body stopped against a tree, Klaus did not move. His eyes stared dully ahead.

"Klaus!" His gray eyes vaguely followed Simone's as she desperately tried to reach him despite Eren Yeager blocking her. Sound of footsteps made his head slightly turn. Mikasa Ackerman was in front of him, looking down at him.

"Levi died because he was weak. He could have dodged that attack from the Female Titan, but he couldn't." She paused, looking at the broken teen before her. "His death has nothing to do with my actions." Her eyes remained unreadable. Klaus was so numb he couldn't feel any anger, or anything. "You blame me for his death, as many do for their loved ones. Do you know why you couldn't save Adrian Snow? You were weak, Klaus. You _are_ weak." Klaus attempted to stand, but he found he could only stare at Mikasa Ackerman as she spoke to him.

"When your parents died, you were weak then because you were too young and did not have the strength. But now?" Klaus' breathing started to become ragged as her eyes stared to bore into him, aware of her biting words. "Now you had the strength but couldn't protect him. And isn't what that what he wanted anyway? To die protecting his friends?" Klaus didn't answer. "Do blame Simone for allowing Adrian to die?"

"No," came Klaus' hoarse answer.

"Then why do you blame Eren for your mother's death and mine for your father's? For Adrian Snow's?" Klaus didn't answer. "Your father once told me, _"'Don't lose sight of your primary objective. Is it more important than the revenge you desire?'"_ If what you say is true, then I imagine Levi wanted to kill the Female Titan for killing your mother." Mikasa Ackerman let that sentence sink in as Klaus' mind withered away.

"Would you really sacrifice the fate of humanity for the sake of revenge?" Klaus could feel Mikasa Ackerman's gaze on him, her eyes glancing over his now-shaking form. "Would you really place blame on me when it is really yourself who is to blame?" She eyed the boy sadly. "Your father, Levi, was a better man," she whispered as she walked away.

"Klaus?" There was no answer from the boy lying against the tree. No matter how many times Simone Arlert called for him, the raven haired boy would not speak. Klaus was not aware of her calling for him. He was not aware of the dark sky and of the stars. He wasn't even aware of himself.

His tears looked similar to silver in the moonlight.


End file.
